In certain vehicle types, a wheel-arch protector is used to cover a wheel arch from the outside in the widthwise direction of the vehicle when a side door is closed. The wheel arch is formed on a body panel that constitutes an outer plate of the vehicle body. A method for covering the wheel arch using a wheel-arch protector is well-known from JP 2006-264370 A.
A summary of the method disclosed in JP 2006-264370 A will be described below with reference to FIGS. 11A and 11B hereof. FIG. 11A shows a partial lateral view of a vehicle 100 that has a conventional wheel-arch protector 110, while FIG. 11B shows a cross-section along the line B-B of the vehicle 100 shown in FIG. 11A.
The conventional vehicle 100 is provided with a side door 102 adjoining a rear wheel 101, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B. A wheel arch 105 that constitutes the rim of a wheel housing 104 for receiving the rear wheel 101 is formed on a vehicle-body panel 103. A cutout part 106 that is formed in an arcuate shape along the wheel arch 105 is present on a lower rear part on the edge of the side door 102. The wheel-arch protector 110 is attached to a back surface 102a of the side door 102 and is formed in an arcuate shape so as to follow the cutout part 106.
The wheel-arch protector 110 is a molded article integrally formed from a hard resin and is comprised of a mounting baseplate 111, a extending plate 112, and a shielding plate 113. The mounting baseplate 111 is mounted and overlaid on the back surface 102a of the side door 102. The extending plate 112 extends from one end of the mounting baseplate 111 along the cutout part 106 so as to face an outer surface 102b of the side door 102. The shielding plate 113 extends from a corner 114 between the mounting baseplate 111 and the extending plate 112 toward the inside of the wheel housing 104. The gap between the vehicle-body panel 103 and the back surface 102a of the side door 102 is covered by the shielding plate 113 when the side door 102 is closed. The shielding plate 113 is formed integrally with a portion of the corner 114, and therefore the entirety of the wheel-arch protector 110 is rigid.
However, the shielding plate 113 is composed of a hard resin, and therefore a gap 121 of at least a certain size must be present between the shielding plate 113 and the wheel arch 105. Improvements are necessary to improve sound insulation and water proofing in the region of the gap 121. The shielding plate 113 is also exposed to the outside when the side door 102 is open. The shielding plate 113 must be made more resistant to external impact, which is disadvantageous in terms of keeping the cost of the wheel-arch protector 110 low.
Alternatively, it is possible to consider configuring the entire wheel-arch protector from a soft resin. If a soft resin is used, then by adopting a structure wherein the shielding plate 113 contacts the wheel arch 105, the gap 121 can be eliminated. The shielding plate 113 will also be pliable and therefore durable.
However, the rigidity of the entire wheel-arch protector 110 cannot be increased if the shielding plate 113 is pliable. Further improvements are required to increase the rigidity of the wheel-arch protector 110.
Accordingly, technology is needed for improving the seal between the wheel arch and the wheel-arch protector and for increasing the rigidity of the wheel-arch protector.